About

Convicted felon Bernard Madoff cast blame on some of the banks and hedge funds he dealt with as "complicit" in his multibillion dollar Ponzi scheme, noting they turned a blind eye to his fraudulent activities and that they had to have known his investment returns weren't real, according to a New York Timesinterview with the fallen financier.

In a jailhouse interview, Madoff, who is serving a 150-year sentence, pointed to a failure by banks and hedge funds to investigate when his filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission didn't jibe with information that they could have obtained. The aging and frail Madoff told the Times he was surprised to learn that some bankers were exchanging emails questioning his results but faulted them for not taking action.

Madoff's Ponzi scheme cost institutional investors and mom-and-pop investors $65 billion in paper wealth and $20 billion in cold hard cash. But the Times article noted that Madoff spent little time in the interview addressing the financial wreckage he left behind that wiped out, in many cases, nest eggs of retirees.

A Stack of Suits

Although Madoff says he was willing to aid prosecutors in recovering assets for investors, he refused to offer any "criminal evidence" that would land others in jail. He has repeatedly said he acted alone. But Madoff's accountant, David Friehling, as well as a senior executive, Frank DiPascali, have pleaded guilty and are cooperating with the criminal investigation, while five other employees have been indicted. These other employees have pleaded innocent and await trial.

Madoff also says he's given information to trustee Irving Picard, who's in charge of recovering the billions in lost assets for the scheme's victims. It's not clear, however, if that information was useful in helping Picard file a stack of civil lawsuits. Among those are suits against JP Morgan Chase (JPM), Madoff's main banker; financier Sonja Kohn, who ran a network of hedge funds that invested with Madoff; and the Wilpon family, which owns the New York Mets.

Although PIcard is seeking $90 billion in damages from these lawsuits, Madoff says that's far more than needed to fulfill valid claims by investors. The jailbird financier puts the figure at $20 billion -- the amount of cash that investors are out of.

Picard has recouped $10 billion so far, and Madoff believes the remainder can come from lawsuits levied against the banks and hedge funds. From Madoff's perspective, according to the Times, Picard should discontinue his legal pursuit against Madoff's longtime investors who managed to pull out more money from their accounts than they deposited.

Disgraced former financier Bernie Madoff will spend the rest of his life behind bars for orchestrating the biggest Ponzi scheme in U.S. history. Browse our gallery for more high-profile white-collar criminals.

Portfolio Basics

Add a Comment

13 Comments

Filter by:

Dereck

Major Fraud Alert

The entire Federal Banking System under FirstGov has been "Consumed" and "Levied" by way of a Maryland State Circuit/District Court Ruled “Appropriation and Garnishment” of all Future Earnings prior to and after 2004 against Bank Of America by way of the F.D.I.C. Regulations Prohibiting failing Banks from Merging with other failing Banks between the Dates of 08/04/08 and 10/09/09.

Bank of America violated the 21st Century Act: Final Amendments to Regulation CC Section: http://www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/press/bcreg/2004/20040726/attachment.pdf

seeking reimbursement of Credit, Loan, and Finance Balances as a "Bank Entity" and not a "Nonbank Consumer" as specified on Pages 85 and 86.

The person they sued through a LLC. Debt Collection Company and Law Firm was the "World Fortune Owner" who "Counterclaimed" and won.

Now all Contracts of any Corporations (Including Employment) under the "Controlling Interest" of any Investment Bank Worldwide are "Null and Void", and are also under the stipulated Rules and Regulations of an "Closely-held S Corporation rendering all Employed under Legal Actions against “Domination”, and also means that "No Corporation can hold Shares" officially making every Stock Exchange on the Planet a "Ponzi Scheme" by default.

Businesses owned by the States (Public Corporations) are being sold Stock Shares by Corporations also under the Federal Banking System in this Worldwide "Ponzi Scheme". The World Fortune Company Merrick Inc. Sweden is dissolving Millions and Billions of Dollars from "All Levels of Government"in the U.S. of Financing based upon Years of "negligent inaction" involving this case.

The Federal Government has already been forced to discontinue supplying the Financing States use to pay their debts, Persons in Government Offices may want to begin to take their jobs more seriously, these are different times from 10 Years ago and you will not be accepted civil servants here just because you say you are here to do the right thing.

sure Madoff acted alone,and they put him in prison to protect him from all the dishonest folks on the outside.He's a real prince of a guy.Let's see,his son took his life because he didn't have a conscience.Has this jerk learned nothing?His own son is dead because of his lies!May he rot in hell!!!

I also find it very interesting that yesterday Warren Buffet Berkshire Hathaway unloaded Bank of America and Mellon BNY a day before Bernie Madeoff alledges the banks and hedge funds were complicit. Well let's see, if the banks and fund managers knew, then why wouldn't the NY FED know also? Why Timmy Geithner, would you be hiding a great big secret from the Ameican people? You worked for Merril Lynch must have known about Bernie and his firm? In addition, I bet those people at Goldman Sach's knew too. I bet Bernie is angry -- he's not angry he built an empire on secrets and falsehoods, he's angry he got caught, and I hope he squeals like a pig and sings like a canary and tells the world he knew.

Not weighing in on what the banks may or may not have known. But I am a little curious as to why the opinions of a felon convicted of a crime that is so deeply rooted in abject dishonesty, where the felon had absolutely no problem lying to and bankrupting even his closest friends and family, is so newsworthy.... How can you trust and why would you listen to ANYTHING that this guy has to say?

Years ago, there was a company named Equity Funding that reported great success selling leveraged life inusrance products. The results seemed too good to be true. Most of the sales were bogus and the results were indeed too good to be true.

There were other examples after that.

Nevertheless, we all continue to look for the next genius that can produce results that seem too good to be true. When they indeed turn out to be too good to be true and are part of still another fraud, we express surprise.

As long as we greedily look for results that are too good to be true, we will be victims to bogus schemes.